Erek Lin (林暉閔, Lin Hui Min, born September 10, 1997) is a Taiwanese actor. Making his debut as a child actor in Starry Starry Night (2012), Lin has since gone on to star in various dramas and movies.
Life and career
1997-2011: Early life and Starry Starry Night (2012) Lin was born in Taipei in 1997. He attended Taipei Jing-Xing Junior High School (景興國中) and New Taipei Municipal AnKang High School (新北市立安康高级中學).
Primarily an athlete, he was involved in Taekwondo throughout his early life. In the 6th grade, Lin was Taekwondo National Champion. Interested in track and basketball, his classmates initially thought that he would grow up to have a career in sports.
Coincidentally, after a street casting and after being picked among at least a thousand other individuals contesting the part, Lin was selected for the main role of Zhou Yu-Jie in Starry Starry Night (2012). Director Tom Lin Shu-yu had initially planned to create a "small art-house movie" based on the illustrated novel of the same name by illustrator and writer Jimmy Liao. Subsequently, however, after the Chinese film studio Huayi Brothers picked up the film, the film became a China-Taiwan co-production and the film's budget was increased to a total of US$7 million
Upon its release, Starry Starry Night was well-received and despite no formal experience in acting, Lin's performance in Starry Starry Night received high praise. His performance earned him a Best New Actor award at the 14th Taipei Film Awards, a nomination for Best Newcomer at the 6th Asian Film Awards, and a nomination for Best New Performer at the 49th Golden Horse Film Awards
2012-2019: University After Starry Starry Night, Lin only took on acting jobs in his free time and during the school holidays, making it clear that his priority would be on schooling. In this period, he took on small roles (a bit part in Mayday Nowhere 3D (2012), a dubbed role in drama 泡沫之夏 (2016)) and roles in minor productions (看不見的光影 (2012), 我的爸爸 (2012), 今天我代課 (2015)).
In 2016, Lin gained admission to Taipei National University of the Arts' (國立臺北藝術大學) Department of Film Making.
2020-present: Lead roles and Return to acting Starting 2018, Lin began to take on more acting roles. PTS Movie The Defenders (2018) marked his return to acting.
In July 2019, Lin held a role as a main character in PTS Movie, Fragments of Summer (2019). In the movie, he plays Duoduo, a child trafficking victim rendered mute by having his tongue cut out by traffickers. Later in August that year, Lin was announced as one of the main cast members in Season 1 of 76 Horror Bookstore (2020).
Lin also starred in the romantic film Your Name Engraved Herein (2020), the first LGBT film to exceed NT$100 million at the Taiwanese box office. There was also an Alternate Reality Game (ARG) spin-off based on Lin's character in the movie.
In December 2020, Lin starred alongside Chris Wang Yu-Sheng and Allison Lin in new HBO Asia drama, The Adventure of the Ring (2020). The drama is available for worldwide streaming on HBO Go.
Lin stars alongside veteran actors Chang Chen and Janine Chang in The Soul (2021). He will also be starring in the Eastern Broadcasting Company's Drama The Summer Temple Fair (2021), slated to be released in the summer of 2021.
Filmography
Movies +YearTitleRole2011Starry Starry Night周宇傑2012看不見的光影阿聰Mayday Nowhere 3D小暉2013Get Together劉國樑2016Summer's Desire尹澄2020Your Name Engraved Herein謝鎮宏（瘦瘦）2021The Soul王天佑2022S-GirlT.B.A.T.B.A.超級碼力 / 野夏天T.B.A.
Television Movies +YearTitleRoleNetwork2015今天我代課俊華PTS 學生劇展2018The Defenders手槍（王守強）PTS 新創電影2019Fragments of Summer多多PTS 新創電影2020The Silent Gun宋家豪PTS 人生劇展2021The Amazing Grace of ΣT.B.A.
Mini Series +YearTitleRoleNetwork2020Kill For Love林家勳myVideo
Television series +YearTitleRoleNetwork2019Sweet Encounter胡晏誠DaAi TV2020The Adventure of the Ring賴子隆HBO Asia2021The Summer Temple Fair林一心Eastern Broadcasting CompanyWhat The Hell Is Love盧品冠2022DNA Says Love You喜文
Short Films/Independent Films +YearTitleRoleRef.2012我的爸爸多多2017SWINScreened at the 2017 Yilan Green International Film Festival and the 40th Golden Harvest Awards for Outstanding Short Films2019平行時空HimselfKre8音樂實驗室 x 寰亞 Media Asia Global Audition 2019 Promotional Film2020HIDE AND SEEK小奇76 Horror Bookstore (2020) Season 1Make a Wish李皓Screened at the 42nd Golden Harvest Awards for Outstanding Short Films, the 7th Taiwan International Queer Film Festival, and the 27th Women Make Waves Film FestivalWalking in the DrizzleETaipei National University of the Arts' Department of Film Making's 7th Graduation Exhibition:《最後一顆都是騙人的》2021The GoldfishBoyRTF GRADUATION Exhibition少年的河 A-HaiTamsui River Film Festival
Awards and nominations +YearAwardCategoryNominated workRoleResult201214th Taipei Film AwardsBest New ActorStarry Starry Night周宇傑（小傑）Won6th Asian Film AwardsNominated49th Golden Horse Film Festival and AwardsNominated
References